Acquired in a blockbuster preseason trade that sent Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick to Minnesota, Towns has unlocked new dimensions in New York’s offense with his ability to stretch the floor playing the stretch five at Madison Square Garden.

KAT on Thibs and criticism the coach gets for too many minutes: “I feel like ya’ll give him flack all the time. No matter where he is. But y’all keep talking about him and that means

For the game, the Knicks could be without one of their best players, as Karl-Anthony Towns is on the injury report. The four-time NBA All-Star has missed each of the previous two games, so this would be his third straight out of action (if he doesn't play).

Kevin Garnett suggested the Knicks stars take a similar approach with Thibodeau. “My only problem with a lot of the traditional stuff, it doesn’t download the latest update. Our league is

Towns has missed the Knicks' last two games after injuring his Thumb during a Jan. 13 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The star center played through discomfort, posting 26 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-17 shooting from the field, 4-of-9 from three and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. He declined to say whether he underwent X-rays following the loss.

Other than Karl-Anthony Towns around the paint and Josh Hart’s big rebound, there wasn’t much impressive about the way the Knicks performed Tuesday. They were sluggish, the offense inexplicably disappeared for most of the fourth quarter,